David Miliband accused of Soviet smear for attacking Tories' European allies

Rightwing Polish and Latvian MEPs make controversial appearance at Conservative party conference

Michal Kamiński, the rightwing Polish leader, speaks at the European Conservatives and Reformists group event at the Tory conference in Manchester today. Photograph: Martin Argles Martin Argles/Guardian

David Miliband was accused of repeating a Soviet smear today when the Conservatives' new partners in Europe attended an event at the Tory conference in Manchester.

The Tories have courted controversy by welcoming two controversial rightwing MEPs to their annual gathering. Michał Kamiński, the Polish leader of the Tories' new grouping in the European parliament, and Roberts Zile, the leader of Latvia's For Fatherland and Freedom party appeared at a fringe event this lunchtime.

Despite the criticism, both men spoke at the meeting of the European Conservatives and Reformists group. Kamiński made a short speech about the group's principles, including emphatic support for Israel, before leaving to attend a lunch held by the Conservative Friends of Israel.

Zile stood up in the audience and expressed his surprise that the foreign secretary had used his speech to the Labour conference last week to question the Tories' new Latvian allies.

Zile said the attack was a Soviet smear. "What has surprised me on this issue was I never thought this would come from a western, democratic party. I would expect it to come from Moscow or the Kremlin, as it does from time to time," he said.

There was agreement at the meeting that the liberal leanings of some of the group's partners was not something other nation states should interfere with.

Belgian MEP Derk Jan Eppink said: "In Holland, you can have a gay family – it is the cornerstone of society. It's a fact. Now, in other countries like Poland it is a matter for that country.

"I cannot, as a Dutchman, impose gay marriage in Poland. It has a different tradition. I am not going to waterboard my Polish colleagues to say that they have to accept gay marriage. And that's what the united Europe of states is about. It's the state that decides.

"I am not going to decide in Lithuania how they should organise their education on sexuality in schools. It's up to the Lithuanians. Why should we tell them what to do? I'm not a sort of moral colonialist in that I'm not going to tell other people what to do."

The shadow Europe minister, Mark Francois, said: "All the parties in the group are signatories to the Prague protocol and we are perfectly happy with all of our partners that they believe in a liberal society and full respect for human rights."

The meeting went ahead even though the party leader, David Cameron, was asked to denounce the Tories' new European alliances and to rescind the invitation to Kamiński. The call came in a letter, signed by Stephen Fry, Eddie Izzard and the leaders of the Unite union, which called on the Conservative leader to reconsider the party's new grouping with the Polish Law and Justice party.

The letter said the Conservative party's decision to host a gay event at the conference was a good step in the right direction, "but it will seem empty – a two-faced gesture – if in the same week you fawn over allies whose homophobia has no place in modern Manchester, in modern Britain or in Europe."